The Midland ISD board will get an update on the district's policy and procedures related to bullying at its meeting tonight.The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at Bowie Fine Arts Auditorium. The meeting will follow summer graduation ceremonies that are slated for 5:30 p.m.

Bullying has received more attention this calendar year as a group called Midland Moms on a Mission has expressed concerns about the issue. The group, through comments made at board meetings and during a protest outside Midland ISD central offices, has indicated the reporting and investigative processes allow for too many holes and inevitably aren’t fair for the victims.

The women’s comments have centered around a case of a former Emerson Elementary student they said was sexually assaulted by another student. They said Midland ISD’s investigation was flawed and failed to recognize the actions of one student against another. They also have presented evidence from a Midland Police Department detective who calls the alleged victim’s assault claims “credible.” An arrest, he said, didn’t take place because the person accused was younger than 10.

The bullying committee, according to Midland ISD, has met three times; the most recent meeting was Aug. 2. Topics discussed include implementing new programs related to bullying prevention; re-evaluating the definition of bullying; defining words such as “reasonable,” “imbalance of power” and “empathy”; and recording and documenting a bullying investigation.

Other topics discussed included conferencing with parents when students are moved from one class to another; counselor involvement at the onset of an investigation; parent notification before, during and after the investigation; and conducting unbiased investigations.

Recommendations from the committee include using an app-based tool to anonymously report bullying harassment, cyberbullying, misconduct, inappropriate behavior or self-harm. Other recommendations include implementing a uniform training process for all staff on bullying reporting, investigation, documentation and determinations, and revising a bullying checklist used by administrators.

The next steps of the committee, which will continue to meet regularly, are developing a survey for campuses to determine best practices, finalizing the revision of the bullying checklist and training, and developing and implementing a training schedule for staff, according to the district.

The checklist has six questions and will be used to determine if bullying has taken place. The questions are:

— Was this possibly a crime?

— Was there physical or emotional harm to the student?

— Was there dominance?

— Did the incident happen?

— Did the incident interfere with the student’s education or substantially disrupt the operation of the school?

— Was it persistent or severe?

“If yes to numbers 1-6, action is bullying,” according to the checklist.

It remains to be seen if this checklist is different enough from current practices to make a difference in certain cases. There is no information in the board packet posted that provides any detail on how the process has changed.

In a conversation with the Reporter-Telegram this spring, Teresa Moore, Midland ISD executive director of Student Services, said at least 90 students were punished this past year for having committed code of conduct violations that met bullying or harassment standards and 70 students were reported as being the target of bullying or harassment. She also said other reports were submitted but that after an investigation, officials determined the claims did not meet the definition of bullying. This was the case with the former Emerson student, she said.

Moore also acknowledged there are instances of bullying that are not reported. This spring, the parent of that former Emerson student offered the Reporter-Telegram dozens of other claims of bullying that she received from parents of Midland ISD parents.

“We are constantly evaluating processes and looking for ways to improve on them,” Moore said.

Tax rate ordinance

Also at tonight’s meeting, the board will consider an ordinance approving a tax rate of $1.12005 per $100 valuation. That includes $1.04005 for the purpose of maintenance and operations and $0.08 for the purpose of payment of principal and interest on debts.

The tax rate will effectively be raised by 9.4 percent and will raise taxes for maintenance and operations on a home by approximately $9.69 on a $100,000 home, according to the district.